Shift by Alberta Innovates

The future with artificial intelligence - a conversation with futurist, Ian Beacraft

Shift talks with Ian Beacraft from Signal & Cipher Season 4 Episode 19

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I had a chance to sit down with Ian Beacraft, an engaging, energetic and creative visual presenter, while at Inventures recently. Ian had flown in from Chicago and was providing one of the keynotes the day we got to chat.

Ian is very well versed in artificial intelligence. He understands the nuances, the concerns and the opportunities. He was willing to go down any rabbit hole I wanted to explore and I feel it made for a great conversation.

Don't take my word for it, though. Dive in for yourself!

Welcome to Shift.

Bio
Ian Beacraft, CEO and Chief Futurist, Signal and Cipher 

Considered one of the top voices in emerging technologies, Ian Beacraft is a trusted advisor to the world's most innovative companies. The founder and chief futurist of Signal and Cipher, Ian leads a strategic foresight agency that guides companies through the rapidly changing technology landscape and finds meaningful routes to innovation that impact the bottom line, inspire cultural change, and create new products and services. 

Previously responsible for P&Ls and innovation departments at the largest agencies in the world, Ian is known for making bleeding-edge technology understandable and monetizable. Brands he has advised over the last decade include Samsung, Intel, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, Nike, and dozens more.

Ian has pioneered a digitally immersive presentation style that brings artificial intelligence and extended reality to life so audiences can understand the future of technology in actionable ways. Ian is also the co-owner of a production studio designing virtual worlds and the first person ever to host a news segment as a synthetic human, streaming to over 100 million devices around the world.

A classically trained musician, Ian understands the magnitude of AI's coming impact on human creativity. As a strategist and speaker, he strives to educate stakeholders on the real-world implications of emerging technologies so they can make informed decisions that positively shape our world and advance humanity. In a rapidly evolving world that some consider dystopian, Ian remains a steadfast optimist and offers what everyone needs now: hope.

Taken from Ian's LinkedIn profile.

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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